In April, the European Commission adopted the 2025-2030 working plan for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and Energy Labelling Regulation. Two cornerstone regulations in the EU’s sustainability drive, and brands or manufacturers that do not comply will ultimately not be able to trade in Europe.
The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), a framework developed to create products that are more durable, repairable, and recyclable. The working plan sets the stage for significant changes across industries over the next few years and the Textiles and Footwear industry is one of its priority targets.
Future ecodesign and energy labelling requirements will cover two elements:
- product performance, such as minimum durability, minimum energy and resource-efficiency, repair information or minimum recycled content;
- and product information, including key product features such as the products’ carbon and environmental footprint.
For apparel, product information will mainly be made available via the Digital Product Passport, which brands will need to adopt in time to meet the regulations.
What does that mean for workwear?
Textiles and apparel have been ranked as the top priority and are expected to adopt the plan as early as by the end of 2026. This means that anyone not already on the path to compliance will need to act fast.
Brands must adapt to new repair and recyclability standards and will need to start reporting on key ESG data, including all products’ materials, environmental and carbon footprint, and end-of-life options. Brands will need to adopt a DPP for each product, detailing this information.
To meet these ambitious goals by the time they become mandatory, textile and footwear brands need to act now but it can be incredibly overwhelming and many people we’ve spoken to in the industry, simply do not know where to start.
One of the best places to start is to take a really good look at your, and your suppliers’ current practices and identify and areas that need to be addressed urgently. Due to the nature of workwear, especially PPE products, repair and recycling can be a challenge, so it is essential to address other key areas that will support compliance, such as reduction of waste and resource usage. For example, but reducing returns and minimizing over-production, manufacturers can significantly reduce carbon footprint and resource usage and save a lot of money in the end.
How Smart Sizing Tech Can Help:
Currently, industry estimates suggest that around 40% of all manufactured garments end up as waste. Both issues—returns and overproduction—can be significantly reduced with the help of an accurate, tailored size-and-fit technology solution like Bodi.Me’s award-winning Size-Me tool.
Proven to help reduce uniform returns by nearly 90%, the highly accurate, non-intrusive size recommendation system ensures that wearers select the correct size and fit from the start, minimising the need for returns.
Furthermore, Size-Me’s data collection capabilities allow manufacturers to optimise production planning, helping them determine how many garments of each size and style are needed, rather than overproducing. The creation of significant excess stock can not only result in non-compliance, but it is also an unnecessary cost element that most businesses would probably choose to avoid if possible.
In an exciting development, Bodi.Me is currently testing how to integrate Size-Me with Digital Product Passport (DDP) systems. This integration aims to support the second-life distribution of garments by embedding personalised sizing data into each item’s digital record. This innovation could significantly enhance the redistribution of returned or unused items, driving down textile waste and furthering circular economy goals.